yzysg Rates All the Tasks on TAVR! (Halfway through Leg 2)

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yzysg	yzysg Rates All the Tasks on TAVR! (Halfway through Leg 2)	Lead	[-]
Posts: 2864 (02/17/09 7:07 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Right, so I was going to wait until I reached 3000 posts, but since I'm a relatively light poster here, I thought, wth, I'll just do this before I forget/move on to other stuff. Basically, TAVR was my first hosting attempt, which was pretty bad IMO. After playing in ATTAR2, I decided to host a race, but I wanted the race to have more diverse tasks instead of just writing/research tasks. It worked in some aspects, it didn't in others. Even though TAVR might not be the best race around, but it still was a main reason in making me post in Sucks more, so I'll still not regret ever hosting this race. Having said that, I originally wanted to rank all the tasks on my season of TAVR but since I'm lazy by nature I'm just going to rate and critique each task chronologically. The race thread is here: http://www.survivorsucks....al-Winners----Season.html The tasks include: Route Info Tasks Roadblocks Detours Fast Forward Tasks Road Obstacle Tasks Stand-Off Tasks Opt-Tasks I will also mention any non-tasks worth mentioning. So why am I doing this? Here are the main reasons for creating this thread: 1. Many people have expressed how messy the original 285-page behemoth of a race was, so by just listing the tasks I'll be compressing many pages and thus it is easier to read yw! 2. I've always wanted to review my own race such that if I create a second season, I'll not commit the same mistakes. 3. This is a chance for ex-racers to comment on the tasks since nobody really filled in the feedback form after the race. 4. This is an excuse for me to actually read the entire race again, which I haven't done for a very long time. So with that being said, even if nobody reads this thread, I don't mind! I just want to reflect on all the stuff I planned for TAVR, and read all the bitching again... ah, fun times. Oh, and I'll do a review/recap of each leg after I've finished rating all the tasks of that leg since the Game Records isn't really progressing. As always, comments on the tasks are welcome. With that, let the ratings commence! (After I finish my race I plan to rate all the tasks on other races such as ATTAR and W&C and Crowlass since I don't think anyone has actually thought of this) Last Edited By: yzysg 02/19/09 10:29 AM. Edited 3 times.
yzysg		#1	[-]
Posts: 2865 (02/17/09 7:17 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Non-Task Mention: Leg 1 Flights Airport Info: Flights: There are 5 flights going from New York to Malaysia. These 5 flights are: Lufthansa Airlines Air Asia Singapore Airlines Cathay Pacific JetStar Asia Post Run inside airport and go to (airline) To switch airlines, post Switch to (airline) It's never a good thing to have a lot of flights on Leg 1. I learned that the hard way. The airport flights on Leg 1 was a mess, due to the fact that I hadn't learned the art of having a blank post ready at any given moment and using another tab to read what is going on. Everybody was confused and it was a mess, but then reading the leg again I thought it was pretty funny. XD No offense to those racers though. In the end, the booking of flights got so chaotic I had to delay all the flights and come up with lame excuses for doing so. Here was the Final Result: Lufthansa Airlines: The flight arrives at 5.45pm PST. This is a direct flight. There is room for only ONE team. THE FLIGHT IS DELAYED UNTIL 6.15pm BECAUSE OF A STORM. Nathan & Christie/ Young Parents/Engaged (Katsuya) Air Asia: The flight arrives in Malaysia at 6.05pm. There is room for FIVE teams. THE FLIGHT IS DELAYED UNTIL 6.35pm. Karmela & Jaemi/ Childhood Friends (pinoyako) Francis & Mary-Beth/ Escaped Nuns (Thingamajig) Thaddeus & Noah/ Engaged (Nimberlane) Susie & Andy/ Mother/Son (autowil) Ralphie & Lisa/ Friends (Crowlass) Singapore Airlines: The flight arrives at 5.55pm PST. This is a direct flight. There is room for TWO teams. THE FLIGHT IS DELAYED UNTIL 6.15PM BECAUSE OF A BOMB THREAT. Amy & Jones/ Troubled Songstress/Attorney (Level 5) Dick & Amber/ Friends (Funkey01) Cathay Pacific: The flight arrives in Malaysia at 5.50pm. There is room for TWO teams. THE FLIGHT IS DELAYED UNTIL 6.20PM. Thaddeus & Noah/ Engaged (Nimberlane) Jonnothun & Viktorya/ Married Entrepreneurs (Dan Down Under) JetStar Asia: The flight arrives in Malaysia that 6.00pm. There is room for THREE teams. THE FLIGHT IS DELAYED UNTIL 6.40PM. Iris & Teguin/ Dating Couple (NickF227) Brandon & Jenna/ Dating (smileyriley 14) Cici & Shebie/ Indian Beauty Queens (wakwakwak) Non-Task Mention: Global Airlines Travel Agency Global Airlines Travel Agency: Teams may run here and they will be able to know the times of ALL scheduled flights through a PM. However, teams MUST book tickets here if they run here, and booking takes FOUR updates instead of one. If a flight is full during their four updates, teams must choose another airline and it will also take another four updates to book. To come here, post Run to Agency and check flight schedules If all scheduled flights have left, teams can come here to search for alternative flights. To do so, post Go to Global Airlines Travel Agency When I first thought of this idea of a Global Airlines Travel Agency, my original intent was for teams to have another option: Sacrifice some updates in exchange for the information of all flight times, thus omitting guesses on what times each flight is. However, the trade-off was that this delay might cost you the chance of getting on the fastest flight. This, ultimately, didn't work out. Problem 1: It took four updates, which was a very long time. If I wanted this to work, I'd probably had to shorten it to about 2 updates or something. Problem 2: I was too busy updating to check my Inbox. I never did remove this "twist", but it was cannon-fodder, nobody ever used it and I just didn't bother to check my Inbox after Leg 1. Non-Task Mention: Money Changer: If teams want to exchange their money to another currency, teams must post run to money changer and convert money and Convert (money) to (money in different currency) in the same post. Remember, it takes TWO updates to convert money! Teams may stop this procedure anytime by posting another reply, but their money would not be successfully converted. This idea of having a fixed money changing area also didn't work out in the end. My first thought when I concocted this was that it would make the race more realistic as on the real TAR, people had to exchange their money at Money Changers. However, this idea fell flat since EVERYBODY had to exchange money, it didn't do any good to anybody and just dragged the race by an extra 2 updates. I remember removing this twist at the end of leg 1, and I haven't looked back on the idea since. Last Edited By: yzysg 02/17/09 7:19 AM. Edited 1 times.
Katsuya		#2	[-]
Posts: 3575 (02/17/09 7:24 AM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I thought I used the Travel Agency to get the Lufthansa Flight?
yzysg		#3	[-]
Posts: 2866 (02/17/09 7:31 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Leg 1 Route Info Task: The Infamous "LAKSA TASK" Route Info: Teams must now find a marked table with 50 bowls of Nyonya Laksa, a famous Nyonya-Baba spicy cuisine, and must eat the bowls of laksa until they find one of 13 bowls with their next clue etched on it. Post run to marked table Post Both teammates devour laksa in bowl number (choose a number from 1-50) Okay, so this task was unnecessarily time-consuming. Well, since this was my first time planning a leg, I didn't really think of how long the tasks would take, I just wanted to cram supposed "fun tasks" and explore the culture of the countries visited as much as possible. BIG MISTAKE. The Laksa Task was the first in a whole lot of chaotic/messy tasks in the race. The premise was simple: It was a Luck Task. Devour Laksa after Laksa until you find the bowl with the clue. Initially, I didn't think it was too bad. 13 bowls with clues/50 bowls is 26% right? So teams should be able to get their clues in about 5 updates or less. This was a bad assumption. Some teams just suck at Luck Tasks (Dick and Amber immediately comes to mind for future luck tasks) and after this task everybody was kinda frustrated already. Unfortunately, it was just about to get worse. However, the good thing about this task was it brought about a whole lot of entertainment. Watching DDU complaining about not finding anything but then actually getting the clue first was pretty hilarious. Ultimately, it was just fun reading the task, not physically doing it. Thankfully, I never did apply this original rule I had in regards to this task: If teams haven't found clue by the 3rd, 6th, 9th etc. updates… Post Drink a glass of water to cool off If teams haven't found clue by 5th, 10th, 15th etc. updates… *Post Drink another glass of water and complain to each other about the spiciness of the laksa* (Post a 10-sentence skit along with this post!) Verdict: 1/10 (The entertainment saved this task from a 0, I guess, but other than that, this task was just a pain [for both me and the racers] )**
yzysg		#4	[-]
Posts: 2867 (02/17/09 7:33 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Katsuya wrote: I thought I used the Travel Agency to get the Lufthansa Flight? Now that I think about it, yeah, you did use it to get the Lufthansa Flight. You were probably the only team in the entire race to use it though.
yzysg		#5	[-]
Posts: 2868 (02/17/09 7:42 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Non-Task Mention: Speaking in Other Languages Once teams are in Singapore, they may post skits in any of the 4 languages commonly spoken in Singapore: English, Chinese, Malay and Indian. If teams are able to post skits in AT LEAST 3 languages (including English) and still manage to portray their team appropriately, the team will receive an ADDITIONAL 20 USD EDITING BONUS for the next leg of the race. Even though this wasn't a task, I LOVED the concept of getting people to post updates in other languages to earn money. I think I got the inspiration from the Spanish Leg in ATTAR1 where everybody was made to speak Spanish. In this case, people were allowed to speak either Chinese, Malay or Indian. Unfortunately, those people who chose to do this "task" only wrote their skits in Chinese, which was a pity. In any case, this "task" brought a lot of funny skits including this one by DDU: Jonnothun ：男子如地狱，我们发现印度或马来语翻译！ Viktorya ：我不知道匈奴！这是sooo压力。 Jonnothun答：我很gunna踢别人的arse 。乔罗根：说什么？嗯？ Jonnothun ：没有主席。一切是一个好主席。 * Viktorya摇了摇头，在Jonnothun * Jonnothun ： shutup婊子！ Literal Translation: Jonnothun: Men are like hell, we must use Malay or Indian to translate! Viktorya: I don't know a Hun (as in Attila the Hun)! This is sooo stressful. Jonnothun answers: I am gunna kick somebody's arse. I have no idea who this person is: Say what? Hm? Jonnothun: There is no chairman. Everything is a good chairman. Jonnothun: Shut up, cousin! This skit was sooo random and nonsensical that I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Google translator FTW! And my personal favourite (which became the quote of Leg 1, ironically the only quote to not be in English in Sucks TAR History): 呀婴孩! 我准备好为什么这疯狂的种族想要投掷在我! 求爱! "- Thaddeus Title Quote translated: "Ah baby! I am ready to throw and win this crazy race! For love!" This quote was soooo nonsensical I didn't even know how to translate it. I did the best I can. Nimber <33333
yzysg		#6	[-]
Posts: 2869 (02/17/09 7:49 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Non-Task Mention: Transport Options Route Info: Teams must now choose one of 13 Proton cars and drive themselves to Singapore. This vibrant, multi-cultural country is the host country for this leg. Teams may choose between two routes to get to Singapore, the Johor-Singapore Causeway, or the Second Link. Teams must drive themselves to the Woodlands MRT Station in Singapore and find the station officer to receive their next clue. I remember this "transport decision" being inspired by ATTAR1's "bus options" in the Spanish Leg. Basically the premise was simple: There were two routes to get to Singapore, the Johor-Singapore Causeway, and the Second Link. Since teams had to go to Woodlands MRT Station, if teams had researched, they would know that the Causeway was closer to Woodlands than the Second Link, which was all the way in the opposite direction at Tuas. Basically, this option rewarded teams who bothered to research: If teams chose the Causeway, they would save 1 update. Causeway takes 1 Updates to reach Singapore. Second Link takes 1 Update to reach Singapore. Post Drive to Woodlands MRT station Causeway takes 1 Update to Woodlands MRT. Second Link takes 2 Updates to Woodlands MRT.
yzysg		#7	[-]
Posts: 2870 (02/17/09 7:58 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Non-Task Mention: EZ-Link Dilemma DILEMMA! Teams must now choose whether to buy an EZ-Link card. The card is commonly used in Singapore as a smartcard for paying transportation fees in the city-state's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and public bus services. An EZ-Link card costs 25 SGD but teams will not have to pay any other PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION fees UNLESS SPECIFIED for the rest of this leg. Teams will still have to pay taxi fares. When teams have made their decision, the station officer will give them their next clue. If you choose to buy the EZ-Link, post Convert ringgit into SGD at the control station and buy EZ-Link Card, convert your money, and deduct 25 SGD from the total. If you choose not to buy the EZ-Link, post Convert ringgit into SGD at the control station and convert your money. I liked this Dilemma a lot, mainly because it was the only dilemma in the entire race IMO. Here is how it works: Basically, teams have been told they are to use Public Transport for the majority of the rest of the leg and they had the option of buying an EZ-Link Card from the Station Officer at the MRT station before continuing. Buying an EZ-Link Card meant that teams did not have to pay for all public transport fares for the rest of the leg. However, the card was pretty expensive (25 SGD) and teams weren't told how much public transport cost so it was a gamble. In my opinion, teams should NOT have bought this card. Later on, it was found out that each transport fare was only 3 SGD, which is a far cry from 25 SGD. In addition, teams really didn't do much travelling (only for the detour and some Route Infos, I think) so 25 SGD was pretty expensive. This task was in part inspired by a tourist in Singapore who bought an EZ-Link Card instead of buying Standard Tickets but paid far more than if he bought the tickets. EZ-Link Cards are only meant for Singaporeans who needed to use it often LMAO.
khnum		#8	[-]
Posts: 21135 (02/17/09 7:59 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	wtf? Who cares?
maldoror122		#9	[-]
Posts: 6672 (02/17/09 8:07 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I love most of these tasks Your race seems so much more genuine than the other virtual races <3 And WTF at Nimber's Chinese quote, which no doubt a product of Babelfish.
yzysg		#10	[-]
Posts: 2871 (02/17/09 8:10 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Non-Task Mention: Transportation Problems Route Info: Teams must now give the car keys to the station officer. THEY MUST TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR THE REST OF THIS LEG UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED. Then, teams must go to Parliament House. It is there that teams will find their next clue. give keys to station officer If you have bought the EZ-Link Card, you must research and find the CORRECT MRT station (i.e. the station CLOSEST to the Parliament House). Post Take train to (station) on (line). If the station is an interchange, you must post all lines connecting through it. If you have NOT bought the EZ-Link Card, post Buy standard ticket and deduct 3 SGD. Run back and take train to (station) on (line) If wrong station: Exit train and search nearby areas Realize that you are at the wrong station Buy standard ticket and minus 3 SGD. Correct Station: City Hall, North-South Line AND East-West Line Right, so this leg was probably the most confusing mainly because teams had to actually research which stops to get off, which is sorta like the ATTAR5 San Francisco Bus challenge, except worse. For this, teams had to get the exact MRT station that was closest to the destination they had to go, and they had to even post the lines on which they traveled. This, obviously, became confusing for many teams as there wasn't any penalty for teams to take, and then carry on: Teams HAD to get the right station. This, of course, caused mass hysteria in mainly the Detour in this leg, where everybody started posting random stations from Chinatown to Clarke Quay. It was fun to read, but not so fun for the racers.
yzysg		#11	[-]
Posts: 2872 (02/17/09 8:32 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Leg 1 Fast Forward: Durian Galore Fast Forward: This is the first of 9 Fast Forwards on this race. The first team to find and complete it can skip all tasks and go directly to the Pit Stop. In this Fast Forward, teams must make their way to the Taman Jurong Hawker Centre and completely finish eating one whole durian at a marked fruit stall. When the team has finished, the stall owner will give him his FF award. Take caution: A durian is a Singapore local delicacy, but teams not used to the fruit might find it stinky and might not be able to finish this task. To go for the FF, post Buy standard ticket and deduct 3 SGD if you have not bought an EZ-Link card, if you have, post Take train to (station) on (line). Correct answer: Lakeside MRT Station, East-West Line run to Taman Jurong Hawker Centre hold nose and start eating durian continue eating durian eat last piece of durian receive and read FF clue Note to self: There are 3 pieces in the durian. Use a random number generator (between 1-4). If it hits 2, follow the steps below before continuing with the steps above. both teammates puke out durian Bitch to each other about durian In the same post, post a 15-line skit! Drink a glass of water So this was the first FF on the race, which traditionally nobody does, so it wasn't very complicated. Basically, teams had to eat a durian. And if they were unlucky, they had to puke the durian out and write a 15-line skit before receiving their clue. Ho hum. Next. (Actually there were so many updates, it technically wasn't a FF, but I'll address this when I get to the L5 Bartering FF) *Verdict: 1/10 (Not much innovation here)* Leg 1 Detour: Singaporean Culture or Singaporean Pop Detour: Singaporean Culture or Singaporean Pop A detour is a choice between to tasks, each with its own pros and cons. In this detour, teams will have to choose between two tasks unique to Singapore. The choice: Singaporean Culture or Singaporean Pop. Singaporean Culture: In Singaporean Culture, teams must make their way to 3 places using only the Mass Rapid Transit. Teams must first go to the Kranji War Memorial, then Sri Mariamman Temple, and then the Esplanade. At each destination, teams must post a paragraph with AT LEAST 10 sentences on the significance of each site. When the guide at each of the 3 sites is satisfied, they will give the team 1 ribbon each. When teams have collected 3 ribbons, they must then travel to the second wing of the Asian Civilizations Museum and present it to the guide there. Only then will teams receive their next clue. This task is long and physically exhausting, but teams with great writing skills can finish this task quickly. Singaporean Pop: In Singaporean Pop, teams must make their way to "海蝶音乐", a music training school that has produced top S-Pop singers such as JJ Lin. Once there, teams must sing an S-Pop Chinese song, Hurray. After singing it, teams must TRANSLATE the WHOLE SONG into English. When the trainer is satisfied, he will give the team a Route Marker Flag. Teams must then travel to Mediacorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd VIA TAXI, and find the Channel U recording studios. Once there, teams must go to the studio that records the Channel U show that promotes S-Pop, "S-Pop Hurray!". Once they have found the producer of the show, they must present their route marker flag in exchange for their next clue. This task does not require too much traveling, but teams without adequate translation and singing skills might find themselves lagging behind. Right, so this detour was more complicated than I initially thought it would be. Firstly, it was a 30-line Writing Task (yeah, I know, boring). Then, teams actually had to navigate themselves to three different places (again, public transport confusion). Worse still, at each destination, there were 5 different buses to take to the next destination, and only 1 was correct. Finally, it took a lot of updates. Yeah, probably this detour wasn't THAT easy. It really involved a LOT of research about possible bus routes. I'm surprised ALL the teams did this. So the other detour should be better right? Wrong. The other detour was a combination of a Babelfish + Luck detour, which admittedly was a little easier, but not very much so. Basically, this task eliminated the public transport confusion by letting teams ride taxis to the locations. However, they had to translate an entire Chinese song into English, and then choose the correct studio out of 20 studios (which was a 5% chance). Yeah, this task was also cruel. Basically, this is around the time when teams start cursing. Not a good start. Singaporean Culture: Correct answer: Kranji Station on North-South Line Post explore Kranji Memorial Post Write paragraph on significance of site and show to guide and post your paragraph in the same reply. Post Get ribbon Post Take train to (station) on (line) if you have an EZ-Link, if not, post buy Standard Ticket and deduct 3 SGD. Correct answer: City Hall Station on North-South Line AND East-West Line There are 5 buses from City Hall Station. Bus 114 Bus 165 Bus 197 Bus 98 Bus 103 Post Take bus (number) and deduct 2 SGD if you do NOT have an EZ-Link Card. Correct answer: Taking bus 103 or 197. Wrong Answer: Post Search around area Post Realize you have taken wrong bus Post Take bus back to City Hall Station and minus 2 SGD if you do NOT have an EZ-Link card. Correct Answer: Post Take off shoes and explore Sri Mariamman Temple Post Write paragraph on significance of site and show to guide and post your paragraph in the same reply. Post Get ribbon Post Put on shoes and take bus (number) and deduct 2 SGD if you do NOT have an EZ-Link Card. Available Bus Routes: Bus 98 Bus 61 Bus 104 Bus 240 Bus 166 Correct Answer: Bus 61 or 166. Wrong Answer: Post Search around area Post Realize you have taken wrong bus Post Take bus back to Sri Mariamman Temple and minus 2 SGD if you do NOT have an EZ-Link card. Correct Answer: Post walk to Esplanade and explore Esplanade Post Write paragraph on significance of site and show to guide and post your paragraph in the same reply. Post Get ribbon Post walk to Asian Civilizations Museum and find guide Post Give ribbons to guide Post read and receive clue Singaporean Pop: Correct Answer: Tanjong Pagar MRT on East-West Line Post Walk to Ocean Butterflies Music Forest Pte Ltd" Post 黑白的琴道指尖來引爆誰要想接招耳朵先豎好* Post 我功力高強獨門的格調好壞不由別人講玩得開心最重要 Post 唱唱唱我唱到啞掉跳跳跳我跳翻天 Hurray 全世界不睡覺一起搖 Post 闖闖闖我過關斬將亮亮亮我刀光亮 Hurray 讓全世界看我發光 Post 自信的拳腳我揮灑逍遙馬步扎無數通宵台上一分鐘練十年功 Post 唱唱唱我唱到啞掉跳跳跳我跳翻天 Hurray 全世界不睡覺一起搖 Post 闖闖闖我過關斬將亮亮亮我刀光亮 Hurray 讓全世界看我發光 Post 有夢就不渺小不怕地再大天再高不驕傲剛剛好你最瞭 Post 唱唱唱我唱到啞掉跳跳跳我跳翻天 Hurray 全世界不睡覺一起搖 Post 闖闖闖我過關斬將亮亮亮我刀光亮 Hurray 讓全世界看我發光亮 Post Translate song into English and in the same post, translate song. Post receive route marker flag Post take taxi to Mediacorp and deduct 10SGD* (2U) Post run to Channel U studios PM search recording studio (choose from 1-20) Correct studio: 17 Post give route marker flag to producer Post receive and read clue Verdict: 0.5/10 (There really was no reason for me to create such a difficult detour on the first leg, and I have no excuse for doing so.) Leg 1 Roadblock: Night-Walk Roadblock: Roadblock: Who is ready for an animalistic night-walk? A roadblock is a task that only one person may perform. Each team member cannot perform more than a maximum of 8 roadblocks this entire race. Teams must post (Name) will do the roadblock! In this roadblock, teams will have to walk through one of the most popular trails inside the Singapore Night Safari: The Leopard Trail. First, teams have to grab a Sony Cybershot High-Definition Camera. Then, teams must walk along the trail until they reach a Route Marker. Here, they must find 2 specific animals: The Leopard and the Giant Flying Squirrel. Once teams have found them, they must take a photo with their Sony Cybershot High-Definition Camera of these 2 animals and write a paragraph of at least 15 sentences on the animal with each photo they take. Once teams have taken both photos and finished both paragraphs, teams must finish the trail. At the end of the trail, teams will have to submit their Sony Cybershot High-Definition Camera and their paragraphs to the Night Safari guide, and shout "I LOVE SONY!" Only when teams have done this will they receive their next clue. This task was brought to you by: The Singapore Night Safari and the Sony Cybershot High-Definition Camera. Please visit the Sony website for more details on this fabulous nine-megapixel camera, currently selling at a discounted price of $250. Post Walk down trail Post Find marked area Post Search for Leopard Note to self: Use a RNG for 1-5. On a roll of 2 or 5, the team successfully finds an animal. Beside search for (animal), if team does not find an animal, type in parentheses (no animal found). Post Write paragraph on leopard and type your paragraph in the same post. Post Search for Giant Flying Squirrel Post Write paragraph on giant flying squirrel and type your paragraph in the same post. Post Finish trail Post Give Sony Cybershot High-Definition Camera and paragraphs to guide Post Shout "I LOVE SONY!" Post receive and read clue* This Roadblock was basically a writing roadblock cum random Product Placement. There's nothing special here. Note: Some racers started giving up on this leg by this time. Verdict: 2/10 (This was just a plain old writing task spruced up a little, but what gave this task a 2 instead of a 1 was the classic pinoyako quote: "I WILL NOW TALK ABOUT THE REPRODUCTION OF THE TWO ANIMALS. THAT'S ALL I KNOW, SEX.") Last Edited By: yzysg 02/17/09 8:56 AM. Edited 1 times.
maldoror122		#12	[-]
Posts: 6675 (02/17/09 8:34 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	lolz at Pino's awesome quote <3
pinoyako		#13	[-]
Posts: 6364 (02/17/09 9:06 AM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	maldoror122 wrote: lolz at Pino's awesome quote <3 My grammar was still shitty back then. =O pino's shitty grammar FTW!
Wuming Shi		#14	[-]
Posts: 3806 (02/17/09 6:51 PM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	LOL. Go yzy! <3
hakushu8		#15	[-]
Posts: 2404 (02/17/09 7:22 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Wow indeed. I remember bumping that thread but then I actually didn't read it. LAWL. Thanks for these recaps. I'll surely be reading them. ^_^
dapa091		#16	[-]
Posts: 3457 (02/18/09 5:27 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I actually like the recaps. It saves me the trouble of reading the actual race. Thanks a lot yzysg <3. Oh and major on Pino's quote.
yzysg		#17	[-]
Posts: 2873 (02/18/09 8:50 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Non-Task Mention: Pit Stop Hysteria Route Info: Teams must now travel to Fort Siloso on the island of Sentosa. Built by the British in 1880s to protect the western entrance to the Singapore harbour, Fort Siloso is the only preserved British coastal fortification in Singapore today. This fort built during World War II is the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Teams must first take the Sentosa Express to Sentosa, then take a bus to Fort Siloso. The last team to check in here MAY be eliminated. Post Take train to (station) on (line) if you have an EZ-Link, if not, post buy Standard Ticket and deduct 3 SGD. Correct Answer: HarbourFront on North-East Line Post Go to (storey no.) of (mall) and search for Sentosa Express ticketing counter Correct Answer: 3^rd storey of Vivocity Shopping mall Post Buy ticket and get on Sentosa Express and deduct 3 SGD REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU HAVE BOUGHT THE EZ-LINK CARD. PM Get on (line or bus) No money needs to be deducted for any of these routes. Available Routes: Yellow Line Red Line Blue Line Sentosa Bus Yellow Line or Bus: Post realize you went the wrong way Post Alight bus Post Take bus back to Sentosa Express Entrance PM Get on (line or bus) No money needs to be deducted for any of these routes. Red or Blue Line: Post Alight Bus Post Enter Fort Siloso Post Check In Okay, so even going to the Pit Stop was a pain for most racers in Leg 1. So to get to the Pit Stop (Fort Siloso in Sentosa), teams first had to get on the Sentosa Express, which means they had to buy a ticket. Unfortunately for them, tickets could only be bought at the Sentosa Express Ticketing Counter on the 3rd storey of the Vivocity Shopping Mall. Thus, teams first had to research which MRT station is closest to Vivocity, and then figure out which floor the ticketing counter was. That wasn't it. After they've bought tickets, they realize that there are actually 4 possible buses/monorails to board: The Yellow Line, Blue Line, Red Line and the Sentosa Bus. Only 2 of these buses/monorails actually led to Fort Siloso. Thus, teams had to once again research for the correct route before they can check in. I can't remember how many teams actually completed this leg, but I'll wager less than half completed Leg 1. Not a very promising start.
yzysg		#18	[-]
Posts: 2874 (02/18/09 9:06 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Leg 1 Tasks that were cancelled Route Info: Teams must now travel to the Raffles Institution Campus. Raffles Institution was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles himself in 1823 and is consistently ranked as one of the top secondary schools of Singapore. Once teams arrive, they will have to find the podium, where their next clue awaits. Post Take train to (station) on (line) if you have an EZ-Link, if not, post buy Standard Ticket and deduct 3 SGD. Correct Answer: Bishan on North-South line. PM explore (area) in Raffles Institution Possible areas of exploration: Gryphon's Lair Second Storey of Admin Block Sixth Storey of S. Rajaratnam Block Astroturf Third Storey of Senior Block Varese Room Parade Square Answers 1, 3, 5 and 7: Post search area Note to self: Brackets (nothing) PM explore (area) in Raffles Institution Astroturf: (CHECK YOUR INBOX FOR A PM!) PM explore (area) in Raffles Institution PM: You can see the clue box on the podium in front of the Astroturf. It is at the second level of the Admin Block. Second storey of Admin Block: Post receive and read clue Opt-Task: An opt-task is an extra task that you can choose to do during this race (Thus the term Opt-Task, or Optional Task). Each Opt-Task has a JACKPOT associated with it. The first team to complete the Opt-Task will take ALL the money in the jackpot. Each new team that joins the same Opt-Task (starting from the second team) will increase the amount in the jackpot by 10 USD. However, teams WILL NOT know what task the opt-task is, just the relative difficulty of the task. Also, once teams have chosen to do an opt-task, they MAY NOT back out of the task until they successfully complete it or another team finishes the opt-task. The choice is up to you: Time? Or money? There are TWO opt-tasks available on this leg. Teams may take up none, one or two opt-tasks. Opt-Task 1 Relative Difficulty: Moderately Easy Current Jackpot: 20 USD Opt-Task 2 Relative Difficulty: Average Current Jackpot: 30 USD To choose to do Opt-Task 1, post Open clue for Opt-Task 1 To choose to do Opt-Task 2, post Open clue for Opt-Task 2 Opt-Task 1: Dr. William Tan is a brain scientist is best known for his fund-raising efforts for the disabled and needy through wheelchair ultra marathons. Notwithstanding his disability which confines him to a wheelchair, Dr Tan has shown outstanding strength and perseverance in overcoming adversities. In 2005, Dr. William Tan set a Guinness World Record for riding approximately 607 laps of the Raffles Institution school track (242.8 km) on a wheelchair in 24 hours as part of a fund raising effort for charity. In this Opt-Task, teams will have to honour Dr. William Tan by going to the school field, and go 2 laps around the school field (the track being removed recently) on 2 wheelchairs (one for each teammate). The first team to complete 2 laps can claim their monetary award from a Rafflesian standing in the middle of the field. Post run to school field and get into wheelchairs Post Wheel 1st lap around the school Note to Self: RNG 1-3, if 2, do the following steps below. Post Fall down from wheelchair Post Recuperate from fall Post Climb painfully back onto wheelchair Post teammates comfort each other with a 10-sentence skit. Post Wheel 2nd lap around the school Post Receive money from Rafflesian Opt-Task 2: In this Opt-Task, teams have to make their way to the S. Rajaratnam block of the Raffles Institution Campus. Once there, they must read through the exhibits on Mr. Rajaratnam. Mr. Rajaratnam was a Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1980 to 1985 and a long time Minister and member of the cabinet from 1959 to 1988. He is widely known for writing the school pledge. Once teams have finished looking through the exhibits, teams must post the Singapore pledge in the 4 official languages of Singapore. After that, teams will have to explain the significance behind the pledge in a paragraph (no limit). The first team that pens a suitable paragraph and satisfies the Rafflesian standing beside the exhibit, will receive the monetary award from the Rafflesian. Post Run to Rajaratnam block Post pen pledge in English and post the pledge in the same post. Post pen pledge in Chinese and post the pledge in the same post. Post pen pledge in Malay and post the pledge in the same post. Post pen pledge in Indian and post the pledge in the same post. Post Explain significance of pledge and post paragraph in the same post. Post receive money from Rafflesian So these tasks were supposed to also feature on Leg 1, but were canned halfway through the leg for obvious reasons (i.e. Time Constraints). The first one isn't really a task, as teams only had to find the podium on the Raffles Institution campus to receive their next clue. However, the podium can be at 1 of 7 different places, which means teams had to figure out where the podium really was. However, this wasn't really a luck task, as if teams are observant enough, they can figure out that the podium is in the picture provided, and it is on elevated ground, which means it had to be either the second or third floor of the Admin Block. In addition, if teams chose to search the Astroturf, they will receive a PM saying they can see the cluebox from the Astroturf, and it is located on the second floor of the Admin Block, thus providing them the answers to the clue. Now, the next clue was pretty interesting. Teams may choose to do some optional tasks to earn money. Leg 1 was supposed to be the "debut" of the Opt-Task, but they were cancelled because nobody had any mood to do any optional tasks by this point. In addition, the Opt-Tasks for Leg 1 were pretty boring. Opt-Task 1 was just wheel themselves 2 rounds around the School Field on the wheelchair. This Opt-Task was very similar to the Durian FF in that if teams were unlucky, they had to write a skit showing them falling from the wheelchair. Opt-Task 2 was just to post the Singapore Pledge in all 4 languages, so that wasn't very interesting as well. However, there was a silver lining to this. I figured out that nobody will have time to do Opt-Tasks during a leg, so Opt-Tasks that appeared in later legs were drastically different. Instead of doing Opt-Tasks during a leg, teams would do them AFTER the leg on their own free time. The catch, however, is that if teams chose to do an Opt-Task and failed, they will receive a time penalty on the start of the next leg (for example, autowil and Nick. I will explain this further as I reach the actual Opt-Tasks that appeared in this race). So in the sense, this leg made me change the fundamental concept of the Opt-Task to after a leg instead of during a leg.
yzysg		#19	[-]
Posts: 2875 (02/18/09 9:19 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Leg 1 Pit Stop Twist: Blindfolded? Phil: Francis and Mary-Beth, you are the first team to arrive! Francis: Yay! Phil: As winners of this leg of the race, you both win… A PORTRAIT OF ALLAN WU! Phil: Jonnothun and Viktorya, you are the second team to arrive. Phil: Also, since this is the first leg, we have decided to give you a little surprise… whistles Suddenly, the teams have their arms twisted and their eyes blindfolded! Right, so at the end of the leg, teams were suddenly blindfolded and taken to a mystery place. That marked the end of Leg 1. I felt that this was an innovative touch, as (until now) I still haven't seen a Sucks TAR Race having such a unique thing happen at a Pit Stop. This blindfolded thing eventually led to the Split-Leg in Leg 2, but how would it lead there? Will cover this when I get started on Leg 2 Tasks. Leg 1 Reflection Right, so Leg 1 was a mess. But as this was my first leg (and I was partly influenced by ATTAR2's Leg 1 in France), I didn't think of the repercussions of putting too many tasks in one leg. I wizened up in Leg 2 and didn't put too many tasks in one leg, just the usual Detour+Roadblock. Thus, Leg 2 would be infinitely better than Leg 1. In addition, because of this whole Leg 1 fiasco, I PM'ed AT at the end of the Leg and AT shared some of his hosting tips with me, thus I would have smoother updates in future legs. If I hold a second season, I'd probably choose Singapore as a location again somewhere along the race, just so I can hold a proper Singapore leg and so I can correct the mistakes I made in my very first TAVR leg. But, who knows? Maybe I won't. BTW, it was a pity max didn't show up for Leg 1. I think Ariel/Brodie would have gone pretty far, seeing as how they won Crowlass' race.
yzysg		#20	[-]
Posts: 2876 (02/18/09 9:23 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Preview of Leg 2 Task Rating: Where did the blindfolded teams go? What was all the hullabaloo about the "Ground Below" and "Sky Above"? How did Level 5 get eliminated in Leg 2 only to get reinstated and eventually win the entire season? What the heck is a Stand-Off and how did DDU complete a Stand-Off by himself? All these will be addressed when I start rating Leg 2 Tasks. Last Edited By: yzysg 02/18/09 9:32 AM. Edited 1 times.

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yzysg Rates All the Tasks on TAVR! (Halfway through Leg 2)

yzysg Rates All the Tasks on TAVR! (Halfway through Leg 2)

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